CBS Evening News

Question of motive remains in Sikh temple shooting

(CBS/AP) Authorities in Wisconsin got more details on the white supremacist who opened fire with a semi-automatic weapon at a Sikh temple, killing six people and wounding four.

As dignitaries from India comforted Oak Creek's Sikh community, FBI and local investigators were back at the temple piecing together Wade Michael Page's rampage.

"I don't know why," Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards said when asked about Page's motive, "and I don't know that we'll ever know, because when he died, that died with him what his motive was or what he was thinking."

Investigators believe Page started firing his 9mm Springfield semi-automatic pistol just moments after he parked his SUV in the temple parking lot. He killed two people outside the building's main entrance. Inside, he shot seven others, killing four.

Investigators think Page exited the temple once he heard the sirens of approaching police cars. He ambushed Police Lt. Brian Murphy before he dying in a gunfight with other officers.

Edwards doesn't think the attack was planned in advance.

"I personally don't," he siad. "From everything I've seen, I don't think there's any indication that this was a well-thought out planned type thing."

Authorities are examining Page's ties to hate groups. According to SITE Intelligence Group, a monitor of online hate speech, Page made a number of posts on white supremacist web sites, including one he's believed to have submitted in September: "Have to at least make a stand, regardless of outcome. One thing is for sure: Apathy is passive acceptance."

Page also had financial problems. He lost his North Carolina home to foreclosure in January. He was fired from an Iowa trucking company in 2010 for driving his own car under the influence of an unknown substance. It's unclear why he lost his most recent job at a Milwaukee metal plant.

Asked if the investigation focused on any stressors that might have pushed Page to carry out the attack, Edwards said: "Absolutely. That 's one of the things that you want to find: Why at some point did something happen that did this."

Officials say worshippers could be back into the temple as early as Wednesday. The first funerals for the victims are scheduled to take place on Friday.

Elaine Quijano was named a CBS News correspondent in January 2010. Quijano reports for "CBS This Morning" and the "CBS Evening News," and contributes across all CBS News platforms. She is based in New York.